


~ The Struggles of High School Emotions ~

by AdorableAnimes



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, High School, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:58:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdorableAnimes/pseuds/AdorableAnimes
Summary: Rukia  Kuchiki had always enjoyed high school. Sure, the workload was stressful, but she found pleasure in the company of Orihime and her other friends. Rukia didn't only hang out with Orihime at school, as they frequently grouped up with friends off campus. One day, at one of these meetings, Orihime dragged the new kid, Ichigo Kurosaki, to their Karaoke party. Rukia quickly found herself drawn to this annoying yet intriguing boy despite her mind telling her to abandon the thought. There was also another reason to avoid Ichigo, this issue came in the form of Orihime's growing crush on the boy. Would Rukia leave her heart and follow her brain? What if Orihime fell for someone else? Would Rukia pursue her interest then? Most importantly, when would she get her homework done?!





	1. Never Trust Orihime's Driving

The thin metal door of Rukia's locker swung open, revealing her colorful folders and an extensive amount of Chappy decorations. Sighing, the raven haired girl deposited a rather large stack of textbooks into the space.

"This is what I get for taking all advanced classes," she muttered to herself, grabbing her bag.

As Rukia turned to leave her locker, a bright orange figure positioned itself, or rather herself, to Rukia's right.

"Hi, Rukia."

"Hey, Orihime."

"Are you free after school?"

"I guess, why?"

"Tatsuki, Uryuu, Chad, and I are going to Karaoke later, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us."

"Sure, I'll be there if I can. Byakuya may be too busy to take me, but we'll see."

"Okay! You know, I can always take you if you need me to."

"I don't think Byakuya would let me," Rukia lied. She'd let Orihime drive her to the library once, and Rukia still wasn't sure how she was alive. It was a miracle the read head hadn't crashed into anything or anyone. There was no mystery as to why everyone avoided Orihime's car of death.

"Your brother's no fun," Orihime pouted, looking dejected. Then she regained her normal composure and skipped down the hall, leaving a, "See you later, Rukia!" in her wake.

"See ya," Rukia called out after the girl. Despite her eye roll, she couldn't hold back the smile that crossed her features.

Tonight will be interesting, she thought to herself before sprinting off in an attempt to get to chemistry on time for once.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and thank you for reading the pilot chapter of "The Struggles of High School Emotions". I know this chapter is rather short, but future chapters have been planned and should be longer. This is my first published fanfiction, and I appreciate any feedback. Thank you again, you amazing people.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Good-bye ^~^
> 
> P.S. Cookies are pretty good. You should give me some. :P


	2. Gotei 13

It had taken a considerable amount of bribery and promises for Rukia to convince her brother to drive her to Gotei 13, the karaoke lounge Orihime frequented, but somehow she's managed. The girl groaned and sat down on a wooden bench outside shortly before another car pulled into the parking lot.

Two boys clambered out of the vehicle and made their way towards Rukia. The shorter of the two adjusted his glasses, he was clad in a white outfit with occasional turquoise accents. The boy was frail, compared to his companion who was tall and muscular, definitely the more noticeable of the two. Uryu and Chad, Rukia recognized, waving to the pair.

"Hey, Rukia, is Orihime here yet?" Uryu asked.

"No, I've not seen-" Rukia's sentence cut off as she caught a glimpse of a wildly swerving car headed down the street.

The boys had noticed her distraction and were both staring at the car, wide-eyed.

"I still don't know how she got her license," Uryu said, the bewilderment clear in his voice.

"Her driving instructor was probably distracted. Orihime tends to do that to people."

Chad nodded in agreement with her statement. Uryu opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it and ran towards the wall as the wild car made its way into the parking lot.

The taller boy quickly followed suit, and after several nerve-wracking and terrifying moments, the car was somewhat successfully parked. A few seconds later a giggling Orihime emerged alongside a rather green looking Tatsuki.

"Wasn't that fun?" Orihime exclaimed, heading toward the group.

"I can't wait until I get my own car..."

"What was that?" Orihime asked, worried for her friend. The red head had only caught Tatsuki's pained tone, rather than her words.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she replied, "Let's go in already."

"But wouldn't it be rude to go in without everyone?" Orihime asked, glancing off towards the street.

"Did you hit your head? We're all here," Uryu said, gesturing towards each person, "Rukia, Chad, myself, you, and Tatsuki."

While the others nodded in agreement, Orihime was shaking her head.

"There's someone else. He's the new kid in my English class, so I asked him to come."

As if on cue, a short black car pulled in. The person driving the car had fiery orange hair, close in shade to Orihime's but a bit darker. When he exited the vehicle, Rukia's assumptions were verified. He was tall, or at least compared to her. Of course, practically everyone is tall in comparison to Rukia.

"Oh! Hello, you finally made it!" Orihime ran over to the boy, chatting nonstop about how she'd worried he wouldn't make it. Rukia felt bad for him, Orihime could be just a tad overwhelming.

She was about to go drag Orihime off when a statement caught her attention.

"I was hoping it would be anyone but him."

"Why's that Uryu?"

"He made an utter mess of my History class. How is anyone supposed to study when the teacher is fighting the new kid?"

"Doesn't Kenpachi challenge every new student though?" Tatsuki inquired.

"Yeah, but-"

Uryu was cut off by Orihime's return, and the group hurriedly made their way inside, having wasted too much time already.

"Room 4," the short man directed as he handed Orihime a key. Rukia could have sworn she heard him mutter something about "annoying kids" and "too energetic", but she dismissed the thought.

 Room 4, as it turned out, was a rather small room. A corner booth sat to one side of the lavender walls, while a mic and screen sat on the other.

"Bit sparse," Tatsuki commented.

"That can be fixed," Orihime responded, digging through her purse.

Soon enough, there was a mix of colorful pillows and blankets all throughout the room. Various bags of junk food were spread out across the table.

At this point, everyone was relatively settled in. That was, everyone except the new kid. Rukia scoured her mind for his name but came back with nothing. Orihime must not have mentioned it.

"Hey," Rukia gestured to the kid, "there's a space on the bench next to me."

Once the boy made his way over, Rukia decided to remedy the name situation.

"I don't believe we have a class together."

"No, we don't."

"Well, I'm Rukia."

"Ichigo."

"Nice to meet you, Ichigo."

To Rukia's annoyance, the boy merely shrugged and leaned back against the wall. Orihime had made her way to the front of the room and was cheerfully making a selection on the screen.

"What do you think she'll pick?" Rukia whispered to anyone close enough to hear her.

"'I Love It' would be fitting," Tatsuki answered, becoming slightly sick at the thought. "It's a wonder she hasn't crashed her car into a bridge."

On the other side of Tatsuki Uryu snickered, "I second that."

Soon Orihime broke out into a rather interesting version of 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'. After about a minute of extended notes and goofy hand gestures, Tatsuki joined her best friend.

Uryu rolled his eyes but was smiling nonetheless. Chad and Ichigo were engaged in a conversation about something Rukia couldn't quite grasp. They seemed to be enjoying the topic, so Rukia just shrugged.

Half of her wanted to sing along, but the other half was nervous. She wasn't the best at singing, but neither was anyone else in the room. Unfortunately for her, the song ended before she could make up her mind.

Several more songs passed rather quickly for Rukia. The best by far had been Tatsuki singing I'm Alive by Becca. Her voice fit the song Rukia had concluded, clapping along with the others when she'd finished.

"Isn't that in a show?" Ichigo asked.

"Um, it's in one of the Black Butler closings," Tatsuki supplied.

"He watches anime? That explains his hair."

"Says the one who sews in class."

"Hey! That's a useful skill to have," Uryu glared at Ichigo through the side of his glasses.

Of course the guys had to settle things, Rukia thought as she stood outside in the frigid air. The teens had gotten kicked out after a rather loud argument had erupted between the two boys.

"Uh, sorry for getting us kicked out," Ichigo sheepishly apologized. "I didn't mean for it to go that far."

"It's fine. Orihime usually gets us kicked out for being too loud anyway."

"Yup!" Orihime turned back with a warm smile."

"Oh," was all Ichigo could muster.

As the group slowly dispersed, Rukia waved to Chad and Uryu getting into the car and went to text Byakuya.

"Crap." The only thing on Rukia's screen was a flashing battery.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, standing next to her.

"My phone died. I was supposed to text my brother to pick me up."

"I can drive you if you'd like. Orihime hasn't left either. I'm sure she'd take you if you'd-"

"I'll pass on riding with Orihime," Rukia responded a little too quickly.

"Why? Aren't you friends?"

"Just wait," she said, nodding towards Orihime's car. Right on time, the vehicle sped into the street, running over the curb as it went.

"Oh," Ichigo stood in shock, "Well, I guess I'm taking you. That is, if you want me to."

"Sure, thank you so much."

"It's nothing."

Ichigo walked to his car, Rukia hurriedly following behind. Once the pair was in the vehicle Ichigo handed her his phone, allowing her to put in her address.

"You don't live that far from me," Ichigo noted when she handed him his phone back, and in a short time, they were off.

It was quiet, too quiet, Rukia thought. Conversation had never been one of the strong suits, especially not when it came to starting the conversations, so she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"So, why'd you come today? I mean, I know Orihime tends to be a bit over the top and you're new..."

Ichigo shrugged, "There wasn't anything better to do. Plus, Orihime seemed nice, and I thought I could meet some more people."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Rukia smiled, "there typically isn't much else to do on a Thursday afternoon."

"Besides babysit."

"You babysit?"

"For my younger sisters," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "they are more capable of watching themselves than I am though."

Rukia giggled at the comment, "I take it your parents work late?"

"You're half right. My dad works late shifts at the clinic where he works. My mother passed away when I was eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rukia stared down at her lap," I shouldn't have assumed."

"Nah, it's fine. You didn't know. So, what about you? What's your family like?"

"I live with my brother, well technically my brother-in-law. I never knew my parents. My whole life I've lived with my sister and her husband, until.."

"She died?..." Ichigo hesitantly finished for her.

"Yeah. A few years ago."

Rukia glanced up as she felt the car stop. They'd reached her house, but she was reluctant to get out. She wanted to stay and talk for longer, but she knew Byakuya would be out any second to check on the unfamiliar car.

"Well, this ended on an awkward note..."

"Not at all, now we're even. Thanks again for driving me."

Rukia flashed a grin at him before she got out to meet her brother who'd just exited the house. Before she closed the car door, she heard Ichigo's shocked exclamation.

"Wait! Mr. Kuchiki is your brother?!"

"Yup," Rukia turned around, "I take it you have him?"

Ichigo's blank face and open mouth answered the question without him having to say a word. With a final wave, Rukia turned and went inside, laughing as she went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! Thanks for reading "The Struggles Of High School Emotions". A new chapter will be out next week. ^~^  
> Again, any feedback is welcome.
> 
> Until next time,  
> Good-bye ^~^
> 
> P.S. Orihime really needs to take driving classes again. (Totally wasn't thinking about Amy Pond's driving when I wrote this chapter... That'd be ridiculous) :P


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